Thank you fans!

I have had the pleasure of writing, performing, and experiencing music through the eyes of the fans for 17 years! We first jumped onto the scene in 1991 and it’s been an incredible journey! I’ve gotten much more than I asked or even hoped for. Every night I meet more of you and you inspire me to be better, to reach the skies in my own life & write songs of quality. From the 51 states of the U.S. to the countries in Europe we’ve falling in love with you guys! The great openness of Australians, the wonderful servitude and gratitude of the Japanese; you fans have kept it fresh for us! We introduce new music - you show love! You introduced babies, wives, children and friends to us at the shows and we show love! And now we’re off to Africa and the Middle East.(Dubai) I can’t repay you and you can’t repay me for what we’ve offered each other. This journey just keeps getting more interesting, thanks for taking it with me! Love SPEECH Read more!

"The Grown Folks Table" Coming Soon!

A fresh voice in Hip-Hop! Take a good listen to this fresh voice in Hip Hop and soul. He goes by the name of SPEECH. After traveling to Jerusalem, the turbulent Middle East, down-under Australia, Northern Africa and Europe, Speech embarked on his most incredible musical journey to date. The Grown Folks Table. A record of world-wide influence and collaborations. Special Guest include: John Butler (of the John Butler Trio), Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5), Marie Daulne (of Zap Mama), Steph Pockets, Marvin Priest, Jahi, Braille, Theory Hazit, Jahah, 1 Love, Tasha Larae, Za’ and JJ Boogie (of Arrested Development). Beat Producers include: S-1 (Strange Fruit Project), Speech, Sebmaestria (France), Lounge Lizards (Denmark), Theory Hazit, and BeatKamp (New Zealand). Speech has always had a fresh take on hip hop since his debut in 1992 with the revolutionary group Arrested Development, of which he lead and founded. Yet Speech has grown from a sometimes naïve, hippie rapper to a songwriter and passionate philosopher/activist. And this album shows his best hip-hop lyrical skills to date. At first listen you notice the obvious hard-hitting drums, a new addition to his usual melody driven tunes. You will also notice Speech’s unapologetic return to Hip hop. With all of his musical detours, it’s easy to forget that the world first heard of Speech in a hip-hop group. Speech says: "Grown Folks Table is my coming of age record, everybody grows up, this album deals with those transitions. I’m speaking to a new generation where immaturity is glorified, & no one is expected to mature. Too many rappers who in reality are hittin’ on 40years & have kids, complex lives and wives, yet rarely talk about them in their songs. Instead they portray themselves with dancing women at the beach, shopping at the malls, going to strip clubs, and playing video games."
Speech the writer of 1991’s hit, “Fishing For Religion” it’s obvious with this “Spiritual” laced release, Speech has found religious faith. Each song is sprinkled with these convictions and yet with honesty he wrestles with what religion commands and how he sometimes falls short of it. This album is filled with the thrills of human drama. It surpasses the cliché’ revolutionary banter of some and embraces a commonality that the whole world will relate to.
From revolutionary, to father, from husband to minister, The Grown Folks Table speaks to the thickness of life, like not many other records dare to in these days.
"The Grown Folks Table" is pure hotness, full of hard hittin beats & uplifting content. Available late - 2008 on CD, Vinyl and specialty cassettes - from Vagabond Records & Tapes Keep in tune with the blog as Speech will Debut some of this great material in the coming months! Read more!

Arrested Development’s Speech leads family corn business at Summerfest

written by: Tannette Johnson-Elie (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Milwaukee-ans may remember Speech for his community-conscious music as the founder and producer of the Grammy Award-winning, alternative hip-hop group Arrested Development. Speech, whose real name is Todd Thomas, never forgot his Milwaukee roots after finding musical success. That’s good news for Summerfest-goers, who have come to depend on a tradition started by Speech’s father, Robert Thomas: Robby’s Roasted Corn. When his father suffered a stroke several years ago, the Rufus King graduate stepped up to keep the family business alive. Speech, who lives in Atlanta, purchased the business in 2005 and has returned to Milwaukee every year since to oversee his family’s corn business during the 11-day lakefront music festival. He even works his travel schedule around Summerfest. He’s currently touring with Arrested Development in the United States, Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia and the Middle East. Robby's Roasted Corn has three booths on Summerfest grounds: near the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse, in Briggs & Stratton's Big Backyard and near the M&I Classic Rock Stage. Over the past 30 years, Robby's has sold 3 million ears of corn at Summerfest and has employed hundreds of young people from the inner city. "I first learned how to work being at this corn house as a child," said Speech, 39. "The lesson of entrepreneurship, the lesson of striving to make opportunities for yourself and others, really ran strongly in my family. I feel proud that my family has had something to do with this tradition in Milwaukee." Although he declines to say how much money he's put into the business, Speech said, "We invest tens of thousands of dollars a year to put out something like this.". Translating success As an established entrepreneur, Robert Thomas, 72, was able to penetrate the circles of influence that help one get into a venue like Summerfest. Now, some business leaders hope Speech's fame and music industry connections can help raise the profile of Robby's Roasted Corn. "Speech is critical to keeping Robby's Corn alive and to African-Americans maintaining a presence at Summerfest," said Jim Thompson, a local festival vendor and former restaurateur who runs JT Bones Catering. "With his national and international recognition as a performer, he will be able to garner recognition for Robby's Corn above and beyond what his father was able to do." Quiet and unassuming, Speech on a recent afternoon was setting up for Summerfest not far from the stage where he performed last year. He is helped by his wife Yolanda, and their two children, Zoe, 11, and Jahi, 13. "It was very weird because I'm working the fest and I go change and I'm a superstar with the lights and the smoke and all that," said Speech, who is not performing at this year's festival. "When I'm done, I've got to go back and make sure things are OK with the corn roast. That doesn't happen at any other venue." Hustling corn in 90-degree heat is not the most glamorous job in the world and is certainly uncharacteristic for a critically acclaimed performer. "Running a corn operation, like running any food business down here, is very difficult," says Tracy Spoerl, Summerfest's director of concessions. "It takes a lot of energy. It takes a lot of planning. You're waiting on thousands of customers. It speaks to his character. It speaks to him supporting a family and carrying on a family tradition." Brand recognition The elder Thomas started Robby's Roasted Corn in 1977 with one booth and built it into a profitable venture that has fed generations of families from Milwaukee and throughout the region. Thomas, who learned to roast corn in rural Tennessee from his mother, was one of the first African-American vendors to secure a location at Summerfest. Before operating at Summerfest, Thomas had the kind of brand recognition and the caliber of product that festival organizers like to see. For many years, he ran a popular north side nightclub called the Fox Trap. He also ran a fast food restaurant, Robby's Drive-In, and a catering business, Robby's Catering. Those businesses enabled him to raise the start-up capital to secure a spot at Summerfest and to cover fees, equipment and labor costs. In addition, he had the right connections. A key friend was O.C. White, a politically connected radio disc jockey who was the first African-American vendor to break into Summerfest, where he sold ribs for many years. "If it hadn't been for O.C. White, I wouldn't be here," said Thomas as he gently rested his hand on a cane. "He was well-known in the city." Now, thanks to his hard work and sacrifice, Robert Thomas is passing down a Milwaukee tradition. He takes pride that his family has given the community a quality product for so many years, while supporting the musical interests of a famous son who didn't forget the community that gave him his start. Tannette Johnson-Elie writes about how small businesses and start-ups are using networking and business associations to tap the expertise needed to grow. She can be reached at (414) 223-5172 or by e-mail at telie@journalsentinel.com.. Read more!

Advice from SPEECH for Indie artists

Bandzoogle Interview Arrested Development's Frontman Speech took some time to answer our questions in between tour dates. You have a unique perspective, being signed to a major label, then changing gears and having success as an indie. Was it hard to make this transition? SPEECH: It was hard. Major labels do almost everything for you. That sounds better than it actually feels. Because when they're doing a great job, you have no clue WHY things are doing so well and HOW to repeat that success. AND when they're doing a horrible job, you have a hard time knowing and explaining WHAT they could be doing better. Being indie, I had to start over. From developing contacts, relationships, etc. You really have to believe in what you're doing, to start anything over again! However, there is more direct control, BUT also more work and money necessary. If you don't like the work part and you don't have the money part, you will do better with a major label, regardless of the downsides. Many musicians have the mindset that getting signed to a major is the ultimate goal. If you were starting over, would you have gone the same route? SPEECH: It's hard to say, because we were extremely blessed! Our first album did very well (about 5 million copies sold), we had a lot of opportunities (Grammy's (2), MTV awards (2), NAACP award etc.) That gave us a lot of momentum and confidence. I have seen many artists start off with a vision and drive but the strains of this business and the perseverance needed to POSSIBLY succeed in it, ultimately defeated them. And they were really great artists. There are many of those sad tales and MAYBE Arrested development would've fallen prey to that same fate had we started as an indie group. Only God knows for sure. How was Arrested Development "discovered?" SPEECH: Headliner's girlfriend Crystal (the original "C" of famous R&B group, TLC) handed our Single to Michael Mauldin (Jermaine Dupri's father), and he saw potential in one of our songs. That was our first discovery. How does your solo work differ from that of Arrested Development? SPEECH: My solo work has always been my experimental side. The side of me that I never want to place a genre on. So I can write Folk, Hip-Hop, soul, World music and whatever else I desire in the moment. that freedom is less available with Arrested D. although we go a lot of musical places as well. Honestly, I do have a nice career. You have had success in Japan, and recently toured there. Is that scene much different than in North America? SPEECH: Japan is a great place to play music. The people, in general, are very open to good talent. I owe a lot to that country. In 1996, I couldn't GIVE away my solo material in the U.S. I was glancing over a Billboard magazine to see where my first solo single was on the charts. It was at 87 and going down. Just for the heck of it, I glanced down at the bottom of the Japan Top 100 charts and I didn't see my single at all. In total depression, and slight envy I wanted to see who was in the top 10 and there was my song at #1!!!! And for 7 weeks in a row at that! I immediately shook my managers shoulder, telling him we NEED to get over there NOW! :-) The rest is history, we saw an opportunity and we jumped on it, I have since then released 5 solo albums all of which have spawned Top 5 hits! Can you give us some insight into your writing process? SPEECH: If I do, I'll have to kill you. ;-) It depends on the project. I do a lot of recording, more than people in any territory would know. As a full time musician, with Staff, Office, family and kids you "Get in where you can fit in" so you can pay bills. I tend to look at the entire world market and determine HOW I can be of service there. I write songs with artist in Japan, Australia, Africa, India, Europe, and of course the U.S. My writing therefore, changes depending on how elaborate the project is. Many times it's done strictly through emails of acapella's , or tracks in Mp3 form, i usually use Pro-tools, and engineer it myself. And bartering has become my new best friend. If the project is huge, then we may fly here or there and rent a large studio, the top engineers etc. Then I sit on a plush sofa, sip on Lemon water and write casually. What are your next projects on the horizon? SPEECH: I just started my record company Vagabond Records & Tapes, we are a boutique label, that specializes in cool music, 45's, and even cassettes. (we do Cd's and digital mp3's as well) We have a release coming this Fall. Speech does Hip-Hop: "The Grown folks Table", we also HAVE the new Arrested Development album, "Since The Last Time" out now, and available at our on line store! Read more!

Launch of Vagabond Records

We are proud to announce the launch of our new label - Vagabond Records & Tapes. We are a boutique label licensing music all over the world right out of our own little House of Vagabond located in Fayetteville, GA.

Why records and tapes? .... Because we are nostalgia heads. There are some things that remind us of a less complicated, more innocent life. We cherish that and we know others like you do too! Select DJ's, press, and vendors will receive our unique promotional 45 vinyl records -- and YES, even our own branded cassette tapes!

Read more!